A Trip to "Tibet" . . . .

About a month ago, Justin, Eric, Nick, and I took a long weekend and headed to the mountains! It was Nick and my first real adventure out of the neighborhood. The place we picked to visit was Dharmasala/McLoedganj, which, for those of you who don't know, is the place where the Tibetan government has been in exile since the 1960s. The Chinese kicked them out of their country, now called Lhasa. So if you are paying attention, you will know that with the government goes His Holiness The Dalai Lama!

A shrine in a resturant. We found this to be a common occurance.




We set out from Delhi on a Thursday evening. The bus was the mode of transportation that we had picked to take us there. Actually, it was the only direct route to take. However, we soon discovered that the bus we had purchased tickets for was not air conditioned and didn't have very much room. Oh, and we were traveling 14 hours overnight! When we first stepped foot on the bus in Delhi, we thought we were going to suffocate, it was so hot! But we were relieved to find that once the bus started moving, the air started to move. However, it didn't matter how cool it got in the bus, the seats were still painfully close together. Poor Nick, with his long legs, was miserable most of the night. Sleep was possible, but not the kind that you get comfortably tucked into your bed at night.

After a long and torturous ride, we arrived in McLoedganj. The bus dropped us off in a small congested town square, and we were immediate targets. Every taxi service and hotel solicited us for business. As overwhelming and annoying as it was, we were able to find a man who offered us a room at his guesthouse. Nick was able to haggle with him and get a better rate. As it turned out, we built a rapport with this guesthouse and we were able to get an even better rate a couple of nights later.

The town of McLoedganj was a bustling community, with a very diverse mixture of people. While walking down any street, you could pass Tibetans, Buddhist monks, Indians, and Westerners from any number of countries. Needless to say, it is a huge tourist destination. People flock there in droves in hopes of catching a glimpse of His Holiness! In addition, they come there hoping to find that inner peace they think Buddhism will impart to them. The irony that I discovered was that Buddhism is to some degree about leaving material things behind and yet, the entire town depended on the capital generated by the tourists. And also, the westerners who were coming here to escape the materialistic west, spent their time going from stall to stall buying little trinkets and clothes.

The day before we left, we found out that the Dalai Lama was going to be having a public teaching that anyone could attend. So, as soon as we got to town, we went in search of the office where we had to register for the teachings. The teachings were held on Monday, so bright and early Monday morning, we headed to the main monostary to find a spot on the concrete floor. Nick and I were only able to last through half the day. The teaching was interesting, but we didn't really understand what was being said. Yes, we were able to listen to an English translation, but the ideas that he was teaching on didn't make sense. However, it was awesome that we got to see him and listen to him in person. A chance of a lifetime.

Overall, we enjoyed our stay in the mountains. The weather was cooler. The scenery was incredible. The food was great too. We did some hiking and some shopping. We met nice people. And we would definitely go back. And we took a sleeper bus back. The price was a little more, but it was worth it because we were able to lay down the whole trip back!

Here are just some of the pictures that we took. There are so many more and I am willing to share them. If there is interest, let me know.


An attempt to portray the beauty of the area.

A typical McLoedganj street



Studying the rules for registering for the Dalai Lama teaching . . .


A view of the valley from McLoedganj

Amber & Nick with the valley . . .


Auto rickshaws . . . .


A statue of the Hindu god Ganesha . . .


Amber & Nick with a beautiful waterfall in the background . . . .



A closer view of the beautiful waterfall, with the whole crew!


Nick's attempt at creative photography! Pretty good, I think!


Tibetan monks living life . . ..


Tibetan prayer wheels. The Buddhists believe that everytime they spin one of these wheels, it is the same as saying the prayer one time. They must be spun in a clockwise motion.



A Tibetan woman reading . . .


A monkey . . . .


A worker at a building site. And yes, that is a woman, and yes, she is carrying bricks on her head!


Tibetan prayer flags . . . .


Amber trying to get some sleep after a long day of hiking!


Amber & Nick sharing another great photo opt.

Justin racing the clouds for a photograph

A little meditation by Eric. Definitely one of the coolest pics we took that weekend.

Nick using his creative photographic powers again!

Resting after a long climb! My favorite pic from the trip.